Case Study: Hibernia Baptist Church

Hibernia Baptist Church

Mission: Make a Multi-use Facility

Situated on Florida’s Fleming Island, a community about 15 miles southwest of Jacksonville, Hibernia Baptist Church has seen quite a bit of expansion on its grounds over the years. Recently, the church opened a multipurpose space for main worship services, meetings, seminars, concerts, banquets and other events.

“AVI-SPL jumped through hoops to get the system up and running before we had to go live.” – Steve Bisnett, technical director, Hibernia Baptist Church

AVI-SPL first worked with Hibernia over five years ago, installing digital signage in its two-story classroom building and equipping a multi-use facility with lighting, video and audio equipment.

“AVI-SPL jumped through hoops to get the system up and running before we had to go live,” said Steve Bisnett, Hibernia’s technical director. “That solidified with us that AVI-SPL is the company to work with.”

Action: Creating a Flexible, Powerful Sound System

Video projection in the new space is provided by Panasonic PT-DW6300 series projectors. A double-stack of the Panasonics are used with the motorized 237-inch diagonal Da-Lite Contour Electrol screen mounted above the stage. A single Panasonic projector works in conjunction with the 192-inch diagonal Da-Lite Cinema Contour at the rear of the room, serving as a monitor for those on stage. Thompson said the double stack was a cost-effective way of producing the necessary brightness instead of relying on a much more expensive single projector.

Because the church shows a fair amount of DVD and self-produced content, AVI-SPL went with a 16:9 format for the projection system.

“There was no question it had to be a widescreen format,” said AVI-SPL Sales Engineer Keith Thompson, who cited its prevalence in today’s entertainment. “The church wants to be as relevant to their audiences as they can.”

Displayed material includes song lyrics, notes and videos. Through an Extron matrix switcher and video distribution system over Cat5 cable, the same view can be transmitted to all displays around the church grounds – including those in the classroom, multi-use building and a pair of portables.

AVI-SPL’s team installed solutions that feature a robust sound system, flexible digital signage, dynamic lighting and Extron signal distribution control. The sound system features three sets of four JBL line-array speakers and eight subwoofers flown in two four-box arrays. AVI-SPL also implemented a stage setup that includes four wall boxes.

For the lighting, the original plan to use two 96-channel dimming racks was abandoned due to the amount of infrastructure required, including power feeds and the HVAC necessary to compensate for potential heat that could have been generated. Instead, AVI-SPL went with one dimming rack, lowering the power and HVAC requirement in order to stay within budget.

As an alternative to traditional dimming and theatrical-style lighting, about 90 percent of the lighting over the platform is handled with 19 Elation Design Spot 575s. These fully programmable dual-purpose intelligent lights are capable of hard edge effects or complete CMY color-mixed washes and backlighting. All dimming as well as intelligent lighting is controlled by the 500-channel Strand Color Palette VL console.

Thompson said the installation was handled so that most of the equipment could be moved to the current multipurpose space, where it has now been permanently installed. The setup still allows for considerable flexibility, as the building is used for a variety of events.

Impact: Ready for a Variety of Events

Because Hibernia’s worship hall is used for a variety of events – including services, banquets and concerts – the solution provided by AVI-SPL empowers different groups to tailor the audio and stage setup.

Front-of-house (FOH) equipment at the back of the building also has the advantage of being recessed, so there is never any need to pull gear to clear the main floor. For concerts and events requiring a more forward mix position, a large cable pass-through is available.

“It’s worked out great,” said Archie Jackson, minister of music for Hibernia, on the design’s flexibility. “It gives us the ability to do our regular sound week in and week out. Outside entertainment can patch in to what we have and it sounds just fine.”

Jackson added that the response from those who use the church’s equipment instead of their own gear has been very favorable.

“Basically, they just have to adjust their individual preferences,” he said.

A two-channel intercom system allows the sound and video booth technicians to stay in contact, and enables a director to communicate with actors and backstage assistants.

The stage gives musicians the freedom to easily perform from wherever they feel comfortable. Personal monitors allow performers to set the right mix for their own headsets. Overall, the solution greatly enhances the services Hibernia Baptist Church provides for its parishioners.

From the video control booth, technicians manage the content – such as lyrics, special messages and videos – that is fed to large display screens at the front and back of the church via Panasonic DLP projectors, as well as to the digital signage located in the classrooms, portables and multi-use building. A separate audio mix can be made for DVD recordings of live events. The lobby and other areas of the church grounds feature digital signage displays that alert visitors and churchgoers to upcoming events, lyrics and more. During mass, parents are discreetly alerted via the digital signage when they need to attend to their children in the nursery area.

Reflecting on the entirety of the project, Thompson said he’s most proud of the dynamic nature of the solution for Hibernia. “As they expand, the infrastructure is already in place.”